Reach top positions in search engines with SEA campaigns

By using search engine advertising (SEA) smartly, you can immediately secure a top position in search engines such as Google and Bing. It is especially useful when you want to generate traffic quickly, for example for a temporary campaign or promotion. 

How do you use SEA effectively? What costs can you expect? And why would you outsource it? On this page, we answer all your questions about search engine advertising. 

SEA marketing is an effective way to get more traffic to your website quickly. By bidding on ad positions in search engines, you immediately appear in a prominent spot in the search results. You set your own budget and decide what you want to pay per visitor. Depending on that budget, you can attract anything from dozens to thousands of extra visitors a month. 

But traffic alone isn't enough. You want visitors to actually take action. That is why it is important to send them to relevant landing pages and, where needed, work on conversion optimisation. 

Want to know how to get the most out of your SEA marketing? Our SEA specialists are happy to help. Do you want to outsource SEA entirely to an SEA agency, or train your own people as SEA specialists so you can do it yourself? Whichever approach you choose, our SEA specialists are happy to think along with you. Why not get in touch? 

Why SEA marketing?

SEA marketing is a fast, smart way to get extra traffic to your website. For example for a temporary campaign, to promote a product or event, or as a stopgap while you work on your organic visibility (SEO). Because you manage the budgets yourself, you decide how much a visitor is worth to you. By managing CPCs smartly and continuously optimising, our SEA specialists can make each visitor cost less and less. You can also reach previous visitors through a remarketing campaign. Together with our SEA specialists, you set your goals and we arrive at a practical SEA strategy. 

Advertising on Google

The best-known and most widely used search engine is still Google. With a market share of more than 92 per cent, you simply can't ignore good visibility in Google. For paid ads (SEA), you use Google Ads, Google's advertising platform. This is where you set up campaigns and keep clear track of the results. 

Extra handy: Google Ads is easy to link to Google Analytics. That gives you insight into all your traffic sources in one place. You can see at a glance how Google Ads performs compared with other channels, and where there is still room for improvement. 

Advertising on Bing

Don't focus only on Google. Although Bing is a smaller player with a market share of around 3 per cent, it can certainly play a valuable role in your SEA strategy. Bing is the default search engine in Microsoft Edge, which is often used in business settings and by a somewhat older audience. 

What's more, competition on Bing is often much lower than on Google. So there is a good chance you can be effectively visible to a relevant part of your target audience at lower cost. 

Shopping ads

Besides text ads, you can also promote your products directly in search engines with shopping ads, for example through Google Shopping. These ads contain not only text but also product images, prices and additional information. That makes your offering stand out even more. 

Someone types in a relevant search term? Then there is a good chance your product will be shown in Shopping. That way you are already visible in the early stages of the customer journey, exactly when someone starts exploring their options. 

Display ads

With Google display ads, you reach people through visual banners on websites and in apps. These ads are recognisable by their eye-catching design, often with moving text or images. 

Display advertising is an effective way to reach a broad target audience and can be used for greater brand awareness, traffic or conversion. How best to apply it for your organisation? Our SEA specialists are happy to explore that with you.  

YouTube and Google Discover ads

It is almost impossible to watch a YouTube video these days without a video ad. And that makes sense: video is popular and it works. 

Want to know how best to reach your target audience with video ads? The ads you run on YouTube can often be shown in Google Discover too — a smart way to increase your visibility and extend your reach further. 

Outsourcing SEA

Want help setting up an SEA campaign, or would you like to take a thorough look at your entire SEA strategy? Then get in touch with Partout's SEA specialists, with no obligation. We're happy to help you improve your visibility in the most important search engines. 

Whether it is traditional text ads or advice on video, shopping and display ads, we can help. Our experts know exactly what it takes to set up a strong, effective campaign and keep optimising it. Among other things, we take care of: 

• targeting the right keywords, audiences and locations 
• relevant, persuasive ads that match your goals 
• landing pages with high relevance and usability 
• high Quality Scores 
• the lowest possible cost per click 
• a high click-through rate 
• a good ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) 
• maximum return in the form of conversions and results-driven campaigns 

Frequently asked questions about SEA

Read more about advertising and visibility in search engines here. 

What is SEA?

Search engine advertising (SEA) is a widely used and effective way to create more visibility straight away. Good visibility is essential in any online strategy, because what use is a strong website if nobody can find it? 

With SEA, you increase your website's visibility in the short term. Unlike SEO, which is mainly geared to the long term, SEA delivers immediate results. By advertising on relevant search terms, you can appear at the top of the search results, which brings more visitors and often more conversions too. 

Combine SEA with conversion rate optimisation (CRO), and you can not only increase traffic to your website but also significantly improve its return. 

How does advertising on Google or Bing work?

Search engine advertising is really nothing more than placing ads in search engines such as Google, Bing and YouTube. The main goal of these ads is to increase relevant traffic to your website or landing pages. 

But how exactly does advertising on Google work? You start by setting up an SEA campaign in the Google Ads or Bing Ads advertising tool. Within a campaign, you can create several ad groups for different products or services. Keywords are added per ad group. These keywords need to match the specific topic. To identify the right keywords, you first do keyword research. Ads are then created for the various keywords. When someone searches for one of the keywords, these ads can be shown in the search engine's results. 

What are the benefits of search engine advertising?

The benefit of search engine advertising is that it is an effective and fast way to achieve a high position in search engines and search results. Ads can be displayed above the organic results. What's more, you pay on a CPC (cost per click) basis, so only when a visitor actually clicks on your ad and visits your website. 

The benefits of search engine advertising on Google or Bing: 

• specific targeting based on keywords, audiences and locations 
• impressions above the organic search results in Google and Bing 
• better visibility for your website 
• greater brand awareness 
• more visitors to your website straight away 
• more conversions on your website thanks to relevant visitors 
• the results are measurable in Google Ads and Google Analytics 

What is Google Display advertising?

Besides keyword-based campaigns, you can also advertise through the Google Display Network. Simply put: you place ads on websites that partner with Google and make advertising space available. This network offers huge reach, although the conversion rate is usually lower than for SEA or Google Shopping campaigns. 

One advantage of display advertising is the extensive targeting options. You can target not only keywords, but also interests, specific domains or audiences. 

Curious how Google Display can help your brand further? Feel free to get in touch with our SEA specialists.  

What is the difference between SEA & SEO?

There are many differences between SEA and SEO, but the most important one is how quickly you see results. SEA delivers immediate visibility, but you pay per click for it. SEO takes more time and effort: you build your visibility step by step, and results don't come overnight. It takes time to get pages ranking well for relevant keywords and to reach higher positions in the search results. But once you do, it delivers a lasting stream of free visitors. 

Organic positioning (SEO) ensures your website ranks well for relevant search terms within specific topics over the long term. It is a sustainable approach that can deliver a constant stream of visitors over time. SEA, on the other hand, delivers immediate results: as soon as your ads are approved, they appear for the search terms you bid on and you get visitors to your site straight away. But that effect is temporary. Stop the ads and the traffic disappears immediately. 

The strength lies in the combination. By using both SEO and SEA, you build a strong foundation and benefit from immediate visibility. For example, you can use SEA to generate traffic while you work on better SEO positions. Or you can deploy SEA specifically on keywords where you don't rank well organically yet. Is a page already in the top 3 of the organic results? Then an ad adds less than on keywords where you can't be found yet. By combining them smartly, you get the most out of both channels.